6/3/09

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act (H.R. 2200) this week. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) has proposed an amendment to the bill which would prohibit using Whole Body Imaging as the sole or primary method of screening at airport security checkpoints, and would allow passengers the opportunity to choose a full pat down as an alternative to Whole Body Imaging. This is particularly important for transgender people because Whole Body Imaging scanners produce a three-dimensional image of the passenger's nude body, including breasts, genitals, buttocks, prosthetics, binding materials, and any objects on the person's body, in an attempt to identify contraband. These scanners may out transgender people to TSA staff and potentially subject transgender people to further screening at the airports.Call your Member of Congress TODAY and ask that they support the Chaffetz amendment to the Transportation Security Administration Authorization Act. Contact the Capital Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to be directly connected to your Representative. (Find your representative at US House of Representatives website or on our Take Action page.)LEARN MORENeed to know more about Whole Body Imaging? NCTE has put together an FAQ on Whole Body Imaging with more information on the program, how it works, what TSA staff sees through the scanners, and what you can do to avoid airport problems. Thank you to our summer Law Fellow, Patrick Paschall, for his research and writing of this resource.